USOC Leaders Stay Course, Stick With Boston's Troubled Bid

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — U.S. Olympic Committee leaders say they're sticking with Boston as their candidate for the 2024 Olympics.

The USOC board met Tuesday to discuss the Boston bid, which has been troubled by tepid polling data and active opposition.

The announcement came a day after bid leaders unveiled a new, $4.6 billion plan with many financial details that had been missing from earlier renditions.

"I've seen their presentation five times in the last six days, and each time, it keeps getting better," USOC chairman Larry Probst said.

Probst and USOC CEO Scott Blackmun were joined at a news conference by new Boston 2024 chairman Steve Pagliuca and co-chair Roger Crandall.

There's still wiggle room for the USOC to make a change, perhaps to Los Angeles. A city doesn't have to be officially declared until Sept. 15. There's also a chance the USOC could pull out of the 2024 race completely.

A referendum on the Olympics is set for next year in Massachusetts. If it fails, bid leaders have promised to withdraw from the contest.

The USOC recently did its own polling about support for the Olympics in the Boston area. While not specific about which polls he was talking about, Probst said support is hovering around a little more than 40 percent.

"We want to see a positive trend, and the sooner the better," Probst said. "We want to see it get to 50 percent relatively soon, and ultimately get to the mid-60s range, certainly before the vote of the IOC" in 2017.